General Tuba-Euphonium Blog

Bente Illevold may be a new name to some of you, but if so it won't be new for long. She is a very fine, musical euphonium player from Norway. I got her new CD recently and I want to give my impressions.

“Klangen fra de dype skoger” (Sounds from the deep forests) is the result of her efforts to honor her homeland in music. She has challenged five composers to help in this task, and the CD contains some of the works that resulted. The composers here are Rune
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After a great of thought and study, I decided to go with a Cronkhite leather gig bag. It was a hard decision because I have enjoyed my Altieri bag, starting in the 1990's, but I'm convinced the leather Cronkhite offers better protection. This review will include a comparison between the two bags. Let me also say that my Altieri bag gave me fine service for all these years. It held up well and was very convenient to use for my own situation (the horn is always under my control, for one thing). An
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On this forum and others we often talk about the "magic" of old horns. I have personally used the "m" word to describe the tone of the old, British-built Bessons. The reasons are many. No doubt materials, design, and construction methods enter into it. Age is also a factor. I've heard (from a very knowledgeable source) that a twisty brass instrument could have stresses at joints if not enough time is taken to make sure the metal is happy in its new configuration. The
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In this how-to video I show you FREE ways to double the scope of your Arban book with simple techniques. This will be good for your chops, fingers, and brain. (The same approach can be used with any method book, but I consider Arban a "universal language.")

Especially with an aging population, we are all aware that it is important to exercise your brain. The techniques I discuss here do that...and they are fun! There are also some very practical real-world applications in some cases.
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We euphonium players are certainly long suffering! It starts with the very name of our instrument - is it a baritone or a euphonium? (The preceding phrase is linked to an article where I address the question, for those who are confused.)

Beyond that, many amateur and even some non-euphonium-playing professional players are not clear whether a euphonium is pitched in Bb or in C. Most publications that include euphonium parts, which may be called either "Euphonium" or "Baritone Horn,"
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I just finished recording the 2nd movement of Vaughan-Williams' tuba concerto, the "Romanza." That is the one movement from the original publication that is recommended for euphonium.

In two places, the melody goes down to a low concert B natural (just above pedal Bb). That is the one note that is unsatisfactory with the 4-valve compensating system. Even with a trigger it is not going to be in tune without lipping down, and I did not have a trigger for the recording. The publisher includes
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As most readers already know, the Holst Second Suite in F for Military Band is a great piece for euphonium players. The first movement has a particularly nice solo - in my mind it is an example of ideal euphonium scoring. The melody is lyrical and singing, and the band is scored very lightly behind the solo. For those who want to play this solo, even when your band has not programmed it, I wrote it as part of a 2-movement suite for euphonium and piano. The sheet music is available here:
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In this video I go through some of the logic for using alternate fingerings. I'll show some specific examples and explain a bit about the advantages alternate fingerings can offer (technique or intonation). More information is available from my book Advanced Fingerings for Euphonium:http://www.dwerden.com/eu-books-fingering.cfm